Hughes's DirecTV Signs Pact
To Offer New Programming

Hughes Electronics Corp.'s DirecTV unit said it signed an agreement with a newly formed Hollywood company to make first-run movies and series that will air first on DirecTV.

The two-year agreement, which includes 176 hours of pay-per-view programming, is the first big offering of original entertainment programming by a satellite direct broadcaster, and signals the fast-growing industry's competition with cable television.